False Pretenses
by EternalT1me
Summary: Everyone thought Haibara was always cold and uncaring. But fortunately, a certain detective would change that. ConanXAi
1. Practical Jokes

**Yes, what you're about to read below is the most amazing piece of work you will ever see. Just kidding. Actually it's my first fanfic _ever_ and I really hope that I did an ok job of writing it. I'm actually a little nervous about what other people will think about this story but I look forward to reading your comments. Oh and a little secret, there might just be a cookie—stolen directly from the cookie jar of course—for any person who reviews the story. So go ahead, click that button and I'm sure it'll appear. cough cough**

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Stumbling forward with shock, he immediately steadied himself by grabbing hold of the parking meter next to him and tried to regain his composure. Her words cut through him like the sharp edge of a knife and resounded in every crevice of his mind. _I don't mind being a kid anymore, as long as I can still be with you. _His mouth opened for an appropriate response but only managed a stutter. 

"H-Haibara, I-I—"

"Just kidding," she teased, the corners of her mouth twitching invariably into a smile as she sauntered past him.

Still recovering from the initial impact of her words, he blinked dumbly while attempting to register in his mind what had happened. _Just kidding. _The force of those words hit him as hard as those that came before it and it was then that he realized what a complete idiot he was. Angry at Haibara and mainly himself for not deducing her meaning earlier, he sulked inwardly and stuffed his hands into his pocket. _Seriously, what was I thinking, _he thought. _How could I have thought that she was actually serious—_

"Conan!"

—_and how could she treat something like that as a joke. I mean, I almost—_

"Conan!"

—_had a freaking heart attack. I swear, she's just messing with my—_

"CONAN!"

He awoke suddenly from his stupor and glanced in the direction of the voice. Ayumi's face glowed bright red from continuously shouting his name and had her hands on her hips in a cross manner. Genta and Mitsuhiko had already gone ahead, despite Ayumi's request that they wait for Conan. She stood there waiting, tapping her foot impatiently.

Sighing, Conan jogged dejectedly to catch up with the rest of them and uttered a small apology to Ayumi while silently berating himself for acting so stupid, so _uncool._ Every now and then, he shot an angry glare towards Haibara, who seemed oblivious to it as she walked in front of him.

"It seems like the standards are getting lower," she smirked, glancing over her shoulder

"Huh?"

"Some detectives now can't even tell the difference between a serious statement and a practical joke."

Feeling his face reddening, he gritted his teeth and quickened his pace, anxious to escape Haibara's mocking remarks.

"But honestly, I didn't think you would be _that_ surprised. Didn't you often have girls confess their undying love for you, _oh great detective of the east?_" she mocked, increasing her pace to easily match his.

Conan proceeded to ignore her and muttered a trail of unintelligible curses under his breath. He could feel her laughing silently at his composure and fought back the urge to kick her with his inflatable soccer ball.

_Who knew the greatly praised detective could be so easily provoked, so easily flustered, _she thought, still musing over his surprise-ridden face.

They turned a sharp corner, arriving at the driveway of Agasa's home. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, and like every other Saturday, it was spent playing video games at the professor's home. Of course, Haibara usually excluded herself from those activities claiming them to be "childish" and "a colossal waste of her time". Her mature uptake on life was a clear indicator that she was different from a normal eight year old; it was also what caused most boys her age to develop an attraction to her. Of course, Mitsuhiko was no exception. The young boy had developed a hopeless crush on her, most likely the first time they met. Conan watched with great amusement as he tried to persuade her for what was the twentieth time to play video games with them.

Unsurprisingly, she promptly rejected the offer and headed for her usual workroom. He let out a deep sigh. What were they expecting? An eighteen year old couldn't possibly have anything in common with a crowd ten years younger. Although they went to the same school, took the same classes, mingled with the same people, it was impossible for them to truly be friends. Haibara and him simply possessed a different mentality than the others; one being a genius scientist and the other a renowned detective.

Conan stepped towards the TV and joined the others in a new video game that Genta brought over. Pretending to be thoroughly enthusiastic about his excitement for the game, his mind wandered freely over other matters. It mostly revolved around a certain strawberry blonde. He had wondered countless times what she was always doing, secluding herself in her office most of the time. The obvious answer would be that she was researching for an antidote for the drug, APTX-4869. The surest way would be to ask her but he imagined the scenario would probably end with some smart remarks from Haibara and either a vague answer or none at all. Of course there was a third option. He could secretly sneak into her room and find the answer himself. That would also include the possibility of being beaten ruthlessly if if he was caught somehow.

_Then just don't get caught, _the voice echoed in his head. Now there was an idea, of course with some consequences attached but nothing was without consequence. He grinned to himself and his hands clenched harder around the game controller. The suspense would be cut tonight; tonight is when his detective skills would be put to use. He has solved locked room cases, disassembled mercury-switch activated bombs, while concealing his true identity. How hard could it be to sneak into a little girl's room without getting caught?

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Sleep was slowly descending upon him as he forced himself awake for the hundredth time. Staring upward at the ceiling and tracing circles with his finger could only keep him awake for so long. But seriously, does the girl _ever sleep? _He had been lying awake in bed for hours, waiting for the room next door to cease its noise. So far, he has been rewarded with five hours of continuous clicks of the keyboard. His hand reached out in the darkness and trudged around until it felt the rough edges of the alarm clock. Turning the display screen towards him, he read the red outline of the numbers. _4:07 A.M._

Groaning audibly, he buried himself underneath the covers and rolled around the bed, doubtlessly another tactic to keep himself awake. _Is this how late she usually stayed up until, _he thought. _Even the antidote couldn't be worth spilling so much sleep over. _Thoughts swam around in his mind and muddled together as his weariness prevented him from keeping a clear head. He pulled his head from under the covers and considered abandoning the plan. As seconds passed, the fatigue persuaded him to forget about his plan and go to sleep. _This is stupid, _he thought. _Think Kudou, what if she never goes to sleep, what will—_

Silence interrupted him. Yes, the complete silence next door without the mechanical clicks of the keyboard caught his attention. Finally, she had evacuated the room.

Taking every precaution, Conan tip-toed silently across the room and slowly maneuvered the door open without a sound. He continued quietly as he approached the door of her room. Twisting the doorknob to test if it was open, he smiled with relief when he felt the door giving way into the dark room in front of it. It was pitch black except for the small stream of light emanating from the computer in the back. _Just my luck, _he thought. _It's still on. _He plopped onto a nearby chair and began searching the computer for remnants of her work.

He had barely sat down for more than a minute when a hand lunged out and clamped tightly around his mouth. He flailed wildly against his assailant, desperately trying to relinquish his hold on him. Screams were only muffled against the hand around his mouth and then without a thought, he bit down on the fingers. He felt the figure flinch behind him and smiled a little with satisfaction.

Then, a cold, hard object pushed against the side of his head and he ceased his flailing. The cool barrel of the gun pressed against his warm skin caused his blood to run cold. He could distinctly hear the loud erratic beating of his heart. However, amidst all the terror, there was a familiar scent in the air that reminded him something—or more specifically _someone._ _Could it be Vermouth? She always had the tendency to get the drop on him when he wasn't aware and—_

The sound of a finger flicking against the trigger interrupted his thoughts. He felt the impending doom descending upon him. To his surprise, his life was indeed flashing before his eyes. Amidst all his accomplishments, he still felt like a complete disappointment. He would never get to say goodbye to Ran and also, he would never get to say goodbye to _her. _At that instant, the fingers clasped around the trigger and with a click, he closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come.

Instead, a cool liquid trickled down the side of his face and tickled the insides of his collar. Shocked for the second time that day, he opened his eyes and pivoted around to glimpse the face of his attacker. A gasp escaped his mouth.

"You know, you didn't have to bite down that hard. Look, my hand's bleeding."

Conan stood frozen, unable to reply, face still contorted with confusion.

"It's the second time today that you've had that shocked expression. Your detective skills are seriously getting rusty and becoming incapable of seeing through a practical joke like this," Haibara lectured. "Now when are you going to say something?"

As Conan remained silent, she reached out and stuck a delicate finger against his head, and trailed down the side of his face. When she brought her fingers before his face, he realized the cool liquid he felt was just water. His confusion faded when he saw the plastic toy lying carelessly by her foot.

Conan took a deep breath and felt his anger exploding in waves. "ARE YOU INSANE? YOU CALL THAT A _PRACTICAL JOKE_?" he screamed at a completely calm and well composed Haibara.

"It was only a plastic water gun. Relax, and while you're at it, try to develop a sense of humor," she responded calmly.

"I THOUGHT IT WAS THE ORGANIZATION!"

"It doesn't hurt to be reminded of it every now and then. It's good to stay alert on such matters." she pointed out.

"Well, I could do without the whole _gun being pointed at my head _thing," he hissed in annoyance.

"Well whose fault is that?" she responded dryly.

"Huh?"

"Exactly who was the person trying to sneak into my room and rummaging through my personal things?" she reminded him.

He opened his mouth but was unable to think of a response. He settled for sticking his hand in his pockets and striding out the door. Before he was able to reach the exit, a hand caught his shoulder and twisted his face to level with hers.

"What were you doing in my room?" she inquired.

Conan could see the seriousness with which she proposed the question. But for the first time in his life, he couldn't think clearly. Her face was mere inches from his as her glaring eyes swept across his face. He was now aware of the source of that delicious scent from before and stopped his breathing momentarily to rid himself of that dizzying aroma.

"What were you doing in my room?" she repeated, with a hint of impatience.

He lowered his gaze to the tip of his shoes and muttered a series of incoherent words.

"What was that?"

"I said, I was trying to find out what you were doing," he continued, when he saw that she had become silent. "You constantly locked yourself inside this room. I just wanted to know what you were working on."

The silence remained between the two. Conan stared imploringly at her, willing her to answer his question. She, on the other hand, had lowered her gaze on his face and directed her attention to the imaginary lint on her sleeves. Concluding her obvious unwillingness to share the information, he decided to end this conversation.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. I'm going back to my room," he spoke.

As he took a step forward, he heard the soft voice behind him speaking.

"It wasn't all for you anyways. I needed it too."

"Huh?"

"Don't pretend that you don't know. You know that I've been working on the antidote lately. Even a moron could deduce that." she pointed out bluntly.

"So now I'm moron." he replied sarcastically.

"There's no need to shove it in my face. I'm already working hard as it is and—"

"That's not what I'm saying. Besides, I also wanted to tell you that you shouldn't push yourself this hard. Something trivial like this isn't worth losing sleep over," he said.

The minute those words slipped from his mouth, he instantly regretted it. He could visibly see the anger rising in Haibara and heard the venom dripping in her voice.

"Trivial…how can you call such a thing _trivial. _It's the sole reason that you're in that shrunken body. It's the reason why you can no longer feed your ego with others' praise for your once ingenious self. It's the only reason why you can't be with _her." _she snarled. "You should be blaming me for not working _harder. _You should be condemning me for _ruining your life." _Tears swelled from her eyes as she said this and fell in individual droplets, eventually streaking her face with its wetness.

And in an instant, he was in front of her, wiping the tears away gently with the center of his thumb. Her eyes were wide and filled with confusion as his fingers caressed the corner of her eyes to wipe off the remaining tears but lingered there longer than necessary. The softness of her skin against his fingers, the dizzying scent that engulfed his sense and the sound of their breaths mingling together all added to the closeness of their situation. To add to her surprise, he leaned in close and pressed his forehead against hers. She immediately flinched and pulled away at the intimacy.

"I-I d-don't think we should—" she stammered

"Your forehead feels fine. I was starting to think that you were developing a fever because of your ranting," he said brightly.

"Oh."

"Guess it was just your usual way of releasing all that pent up frustration you encounter daily. Maybe it's that time of month again…" he murmured.

Haibara could feel the mini aneurysm at the back of her head threatening to burst and cleared her throat loudly at his last remark. Straightening her shirt which had been wrinkled during everything, she stepped past him and proceeded toward the door without a word.

"There's no reason to," he interrupted, breaking the delicate silence.

"What?"

"You were just another somebody that the organization manipulated to do their work for them. You were, in a sense, another victim," he stated, quickly changing his words as he caught the narrowing look she threw at him. "What I mean is, there's no reason for me to stay angry at you. A good detective forgets about the past and concentrates on the present. The fact that you're striving to find an antidote shows me that you regretted your actions and that you're trying to make amends. It would be selfish for me to still bear a grudge against you."

The ends of her mouth curved slightly into a smile as the tear began to fill her eyes once again, except this time, even her eyes were smiling. With a last grateful glance over her shoulder, she shot out the door, careful to avoid letting him see her tears again.

But he was a detective and clearly saw through her façade. He had let her go without questioning because he could perceive the vulnerability of her situation. When his fingers had touched against her skin, he had felt her body shaking and trembling. Haibara, who was always thought of as cold and unfeeling, had been so fragile only moments before. It didn't take a brilliant detective to realize the true impact of the guilt she had been carrying on her shoulders.

Sighing, he wondered if his words had any effect on her. It wouldn't matter who forgave her if she couldn't forgive herself.

But if she couldn't lift that weight off her shoulders, the least he could do is help her carry part of it.

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**Hm... was wondering if Haibara was a little too emo...not thought she was _ever _lacking in that department (you know, constantly talking about her own inevitable death and stuff, not that it makes me like her character any less XD). Or maybe Conan is a bit out of character and a bit too caring/considerate. The offer's still on, you know. The cookie is waiting to be eaten. All you need to do is click that pretty little button...**

**Oh and for the record, I am SUCH AN IDIOT. I totally left out the part explaining the liquid trickling down his neck was from a water gun. So for all you who figured that out on your own, give yourself a cookie (so I won't have to). For the rest of you...sorry bout that.**


	2. And there it was again

**Ok, this is a really short update but I figured it was better than nothing. Since I am really really busy right now with tons of stupid school stuff, I wrote this entire chapter during History and Pre-Calc class. But I'll have plenty of time to write more chps next week since it'll be spring break. **

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"Sherry."

The familiar brusqueness of his voice swept coarsely against her ear and sent tremors along her back. She grasped her arms tightly and dropped fearfully to her knees. She knew the voice and she knew why it had sent her trembling on the floor. Even in the darkest of night, it was impossible not to recognize the crow-black attire and the long strands of messy blonde hair streaking his face.

She was also not surprised to feel the barrel of the gun pressing insistently against her forehead.

"I've been waiting for this day," he said. "Your blood will stain the ground beneath you, marking the death of a traitor. Quite poetic, wouldn't you say?"

She stood frozen, unable to move a single limb. It wasn't that she was shocked by the chain of events, or even surprised by this confrontation. In fact, she had accepted her inevitable fate numerous times without fear or regret, but now, it simply came off as _unexpected._

"Gin." she whispered,

"It pleases me that you still speak my name with that soft, pleading voice," he continued as he reached out his hand. "It almost _excites me_."

His hand slithered down the side of her neck and slowly caressed her skin, occasionally brushing against her strawberry blonde locks. She shivered visibly under his touch and tried to recoil, only to invoke a smirk and to be drawn even closer.

His hand ventured further down and drew circles against her pale skin. Gasping as a new sense of terror seized her, she struggled to break loose. Her flailing ceased immediately when she felt the cold metal grinding relentlessly against her forehead. Who knew she was so insistent on living? Hasn't she been the one to periodically remind that stupid glasses boy of their inevitable death?

_Kudou-kun, _she thought. _I must be desperate to be relying on that idiot._

"There's no need to resist. Your knight in shining armor has abandoned you," he responded, as if reading her mind. "But he hasn't left without a message."

"What?" she asked, suddenly alert.

"He said that someone as worthless as you should just go to hell."

The impact of the words hit her harder than she expected, leaving her stunned in silence. Her insides were shaking with disbelief and denial as she thought her ears were betraying her. It was impossible. It would be naïve of her to start believing his words now.

"You're wrong," she whispered, voice gradually cracking. "That idiot detective wouldn't never…ever…"

"Wouldn't I?"

The voice containing that recognizable confidence abruptly struck her ears, forcing her body to pivot in that direction. Her eyes widened at the figure of the detective leaning against the opposite wall, undoubtedly an arrogant smile gracing his features. She was about to criticize him for his lateness when he spoke.

"Why wouldn't I say those words? After ruining my detective career and my relationship with Ran, why would I care about someone like you?" he spat.

"But yesterday you said that…that…"

"Yesterday was all a lie," responded Shinichi. "You shouldn't be surprised. After all, I did learn it from the master." He glared vehemently at her as he said this.

"Hear that Sherry? That's all you'll ever be—a liar and a traitor. It's better that you just disappear," said Gin. "Besides, _he_ seems to have completely deserted you."

"Kudou-kun…"

But he had already disappeared. The last shred of hope had escaped from her grasp. Tears swelled from her eyes as she gritted her teeth with anger for her own pathetic self. She could hear the taunting words humming in her head._ That's all you'll ever be…liar…traitor… I did learn it from the master…__**why would I care about someone like you?**_

It was good that she didn't need to dwell any longer on those words because it was then that the clear shot struck through the air, silencing her forever. Her last thoughts were, _how foolish I was…to actually believe that I would live…  
_

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Flailing the covers wildly about, she sat up abruptly and grasped the edges of the bed in attempt to steady her breathing. Sweat covered her entire body and caused her pajamas to cling onto her skin. _It was that dream again. Even after he assured me that he wouldn't blame me, I still have that dream, _she thought bitterly.

She heard the rustle of bed sheets from the room next door, followed by a series of loud snoring. She couldn't help but smile at how relaxed the small detective could be. It was almost as if he didn't mind being small forever.

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**Yeah sorry bout that people...in my messed up mind, I always imagined Gin to be a really creepy-sadistic-rapist kind of guy. I couldn't help but impose my own opinions of him onto the character.**


	3. Caught Staring

**Sorry guys, I had a crapload of stuff to do these past like 5 months and was too busy to update. So I will allow you all to hit me on the head once. Hey, hey! I said ONCE! OUCH! **

**Ahem. Anyways, here's the update you've been looking forward to. Or at least I hope you have, or else it totally kills my ego...**

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"Haibara."

"What?"

"You're staring," he said.

"I'm not," while ignoring his unbelieving expression, she added, "at least not at you."

"Really? Is the wall behind me that interesting?" he smirked.

"Shut up and pass the salt," she replied coolly.

"So why am I so interesting this morning?"

"You're not."

"Well, then why were you staring?"

"I wasn't," she glared.

"Am I only going to get two word answers from you?" he asked mockingly.

"Fine, I'll get the salt myself," she said, while reaching over the breakfast table.

As she clasped her hands around the salt shaker, she felt another pair of warmer, more callous hands surround hers. She didn't need to look to see whose they belonged to. Firstly, there was only the idiot at the table and secondly, she couldn't ever forget the feeling of those hands, gently wiping away her tears as she cried about her worthlessness. On a second note, it did make her feel more pathetic.

"What are you doing?" she snarled.

"Passing you the salt," he replied pleasantly.

"I've got it in my grasp, which you can obviously see," she retorted.

"Nothing better than a _helping hand_," he teased.

"Let go, my eggs are getting cold," she snapped.

"Can't you take a joke? You're acting like a prude," he commented.

"Let go."

"The face you're making makes you look like an old—"

SMACK!

Bewildered and in shock, Conan slowly moved his hands to his face, and stared at the white crystal-like material on his fingertips. Staring back and forth between the empty salt shaker next to Haibara and his salt-covered hands, he was finally able to digest what had happened. Haibara had flung the contents of the bottle straight at his face.

However, the worst of the embarrassment didn't end there. If this had happened in Dr. Agasa's home, or anywhere else for that fact, he would have just quietly brushed it off as another one of Haibara's PMS-ing days but the giggles and whispers directed at him reminded him that he was at a café.

Seething with anger and embarrassment, he stood up abruptly and grabbed Haibara's hand while ignoring the "how cute" comments around him.

The moment they were outside, he let go of her hand and turned around, ready to lecture her on her sudden immaturity. But at that moment, he was unable to speak his angry thoughts. As a matter of fact, his anger had completely vanished the minute that he saw her face. She was smiling.

"Did you like put on makeup or something? Your face was so red in there."

Or maybe it was a smirk.

"I didn't know your face would turn _that_ red. If I knew, I should have thrown the salt shaker at you as well."

Ok, it was _definitely _a smirk.

"Anyways, that was a good laugh. Thanks to you, I think I feel better now," she said, smiling again.

Two smiles in one day? That certainly didn't go well with the typical mean-streak personality of Haibara's. Seriously, what had brought on this sudden change of character?

Confused with her sudden cheerfulness, Conan could only stare after her as she walked away, humming to herself. Suddenly, she stopped and looked back at him. Caught staring, he quickly turned away, his face immediately turning various shades of red.

"Hey! Hurry up there," shouted Haibara. "You're going to be late for school."

Turning his attention to the time, Conan realized that he had less than ten minutes to make his way to school. Looking up, he saw that Haibara was nowhere in sight. A minute passed before the realization dawned on him; she left him.

"Oy! Haibara! Wait for me!" Conan yelled, chasing desperately after her.

For some reason, he was awfully slow today with that usually quick-witted mind of his.

--

She glared furiously at the back of her sensei.

The scratching noises made by the chalk in his hand were driving her over the brink of insanity. It prevented her from exploiting those precious class-time minutes for her afternoon nap. She was feeling especially fatigued the past few days, hardly able to remain awake during class. The frequency of the nightmares was really taking their toll on her.

Of course, she never paid much attention during class anyways so it wasn't that big of a deal.

Yawning, Haibara turned her attention to the boy sitting next to her. The young detective had his head bent towards the textbook splayed across the table and entirely lost in his own thoughts. She quirked an eyebrow at his sudden interest in elementary studies. Normally, he would be staring blankly at his usual spot on the wall.

So deep was his concentration that he didn't notice Haibara's continued staring. She watched his eyebrows knit together, frowning at the text beneath him. The edges of his mouth gnawed impatiently on the pencil in his hand and the fingers of his left hand tapped methodically on the desk.

Snapping her face away from the self-absorbed detective, she inwardly cursed herself for her ridiculousness. She had been shamelessly staring at him, like she was in _love_ or something.

That single thought made her want to both laugh and throw up, probably simultaneously. The thought of her falling for that idiot detective was beyond ridiculous. It was impossible.

_Not like I'd want to fall in love with that moron._

_**You were staring at him.**_

_Simply observing his habits. Nothing wrong with sharpening one's spying skills._

_**Right.**_

_Yeah I am. And since when did I have a subconscious anyways?_

_**Er...**_

Leaving behind the sanctity of her mind and inner turmoil, she glanced over to her right again and saw him furiously scribbling on a piece of paper. She still couldn't believe that he was actually making a serious effort in this class.

Wait. Scribbling? Wasn't this silent reading time?

Curiosity forced her to lean over the corner of her desk and figure out the source of all his interest. A quick glimpse revealed a crinkled piece of paper lying on top of his opened textbook, numbers filling the empty boxes in the aligned rows and columns.

Grinning, she realized what he had been so occupied with for the past twenty minutes. Even a genius like him couldn't easily solve a Sudoku puzzle.

"Ahem."

She froze at the sound of her sensei's voice.

"Haibara-san, I hope you realize that Edogawa-kun's textbook is the same as yours. There's no need to be looking over at his desk," reprimanded her sensei.

"Hai," replied Haibara, ignoring the laughs circling around the room.

"Now, since you're so eager to learn to be looking at your classmate's book, please explain to the class the meaning of biology."

Haibara sighed. Even the punishments in this class were boring.

"Biology is the study of living things and their vital processes. The field deals with all the physicochemical aspects of life. As a result of the modern tendency to unify scientific knowledge and investigation, however, there has been an overlapping of the field of biology with other scientific disciplines. Modern principles of other sciences—chemistry and physics, for example—are integrated with those of biology in such areas as biochemistry and biophysics," she paused, waiting for her sensei's response.

Of course she didn't need to see at her face to decipher the look of shock and disbelief cross her sensei's face. She smirked. You'd think that she'd stop trying to catch her off guard by now.

"Sensei, was I right?"

"Oh...yes," murmured her sensei, walking back to the front of the class. "Perfect."

"Hey, you can wipe that smirk off your face now."

Conan still had his face buried in the Sudoku puzzle when Haibara looked his way. She had almost forgotten that he had said anything at all.

"You don't really need to show off your superior knowledge in elementary school _and_ be smug about it too," he added.

"I was not smug."

"You were smirking. It doesn't take a genius detective to piece things together."

"Don't flatter yourself. Like I said, I was **not** arrogant in any way," she retorted. "Besides, you really shouldn't be commenting on the topic of arrogance."

"Haibara-san, Edogawa-kun. Do I need to explain to both of you the meaning of _silent _reading?" snapped the sensei, obviously irritated at what was the second interruption of the class.

Their trading of insults ended there and the next ten minutes were spent in silence, presumably spent reading the contents of their textbooks. It wasn't long before boredom settled in or rather, crashed through.

Her eyes wandered around aimlessly again, searching for an object of interest. Normally she would have propped her textbook on the desk and slept behind it. However, she decided against it since pissing off her sensei three times in the same day probably wasn't a good idea.

It wasn't long before her eyes traveled to her right again, closing in on the figure of the small detective. Every scribble of his hand and every insignificant motion was caught by her wandering eyes. Realizing that she was staring at him again, she shook her head fervidly, trying desperately to reorganize her thoughts.

_What was I thinking? I was staring at him again._

_**Yeah, it's like a habit now.**_

_It's not like I suddenly developed an unexplained interest for him in a span of a day._

_**It's more like a sudden infatuation, if you ask me.**_

_Shut. Up._

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**Oh and I really AM sorry if I didn't reply to your reviews. It was originally because I was a total noob when I started writing this and didn't know _how_ to reply to the reviews but now I've figured it all out. And given myself a cookie at the same time. So yes, I WILL try and send reply to the reviews AND send some virtual cookies at the same time.**

**On another note, I realized my writing style has sort of changed since chapter one (For better or worse, I have no idea. It's for you to decide.) but I really couldn't help it. Anyways, remember the rule of life. Review equals virtual cookies.**


	4. Ah, well you see

First, sorry to all of you who thought this was a real update (it sort of is as it's leading up to one). I sincerely apologize (no seriously I do).

Ok, so I'm aware that sticking in an author's note as a separate chapter is completely illegal and probably breaking like five of those guideline rules on ff but this is important and I'm planning to take this down when the real chapter 4 is finished.

To answer some of your questions, no this story is NOT dead. I'm going to pick it up now and hopefully, update more frequently.

I am also editing the first 3 chapters (editing, not redoing the entire thing so please don't be alarmed) and just making sure that they all follow a consistent style since I wrote these like months apart. Chapter 4 will be finished soon and chapter 5 will come quickly after that.

Once again, I apologize if I'm really slow with updates or if I haven't yet replied to your reviews which I will do.

Anyways, so just pretend you never read this illegal and completely unsanctioned author's note.


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